Tuesday, October 24, 2006


Getting started.

How do I start an intuitive painting? I follow my bliss. I start with what canvas or surface pulls me to create something on it. It's like an undertow, and I just let go and ride it. Then I start to get clues as I progress.

On one recent painting, I got the canvas as they arrived at the store and one in particular just called to me. Next I got the color scheme while resting in the office, my feet up, and the phone sitting nearby with its metallic greys and black. So, I did the underpainting as far I knew to go. Then I felt stuck.

A customer came in and asked for sinew to stretch a hide on a shield. I realized then that I was painting a shield! It was a mystical shield and a symbol of protection, using many different motifs from many different cultures.

That's how it is for me: all suggestions and hints. Then when I get my trickle of clues, I jump in with me and who I am and all of a sudden, I'm painting.

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